The Quest for Healthy Frozen Food When Short on Time & Energy

As much as we’d like to feed our families homemade, nutritious, wholesome food every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it doesn’t always work out. We get busy with work, school, activities, events, and life in general. I learned a long time ago that frozen food can be a mom’s best friend when energy levels are depleted but there are hungry mouths to feed. But, that can sometimes mean sacrificing health and flavor for convenience. During my search for quick but healthy frozen food options, I discovered products from a company called Hip Chick Farms.

Healthy Frozen Food from Hip Chick Farms

Hip Chick Farms is based here in California and was founded by two moms, one being a professional chef. The company offers frozen poultry items that are organic, non-GMO, and free of fillers. That means no pink slime (unedible bits of meat which are separated, washed with ammonia, then added back in). Since they only use real ingredients and skip the junk, you can feel good about feeding these products to your family. They even have gluten-free varieties!

Of course, none of that matters if the healthy frozen food doesn’t taste good. So, I picked up a few boxes to try out. I was pretty glad to see that both the regular and the gluten-free products required the same temperature and cooking time. It only takes 12-15 minutes in the oven to heat. So, after you pop the food in, it’s pretty much done by the time you round up the kids, clean everyone up, and finally sit down to eat.

Hip Chick Farms Review — Taste & Texture

My family thought everything was pretty good. The breading was crunchy and the meat didn’t have that fake, spongey texture some other nuggets, strips, and meatballs have. Plus, the items were seasoned nicely. We actually liked the gluten free nuggets the best but the chicken fingers came up a close second. I think the meatballs would be better with pasta and sauce.

Next time, though, I will take them out of the oven a bit sooner. The meat was a bit on the dry side. Nothing that a little dipping sauce (i.e. ketchup, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, mustard, and barbecue) couldn’t fix though. 🙂

You can find Hip Chick Farms at many grocery stores across the country including places like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Target. Use this store locator to see which stores near you carry them. The full Hip Chick Farms lineup includes:

Organic Turkey Patties

Organic Chicken Fingers

Organic Grilled Naked Nuggets

Organic Gluten Free Chicken Meatballs

Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets

Chicken Fingers

Chicken Wings

Chicken Meatballs

When you don’t have time or energy to cook from scratch, it’s great to have a healthy, no-guilt option to fall back on. Hip Chick Farms products are quick and easy to prepare but are still tasty for even the pickiest of eaters. You can use them as a snack or as a compliment to your next meal. Either way, these are great frozen food items to stock your freezer with just in case.

As a bonus, thanks to Hip Chick Farms, one of you will win a special prize pack that includes coupons to try the products yourself. Enter below!

TerriAnn van Gosliga is the main writer at Cookies & Clogs. Born & raised in the SF Bay Area but loves to travel. She's been married to her best friend for 19 years, used to homeschool her 18-year-old daughter before she started a public high school/college program, and has an accident-prone lab mix dog.

I remember hearing about it a few years back, but it has been absent from the news lately. At the time it did not look like something I would want to eat, but I have not really given it much thought since then. I guess I just assumed the issue had been resolved.

I don’t even know what pink slime is….but, I know I am not inviting ANYTHING into my food. Believe me, I am overly concerned about my food…..I make my OWN. I know what ingredients are in there….I know when it was prepared. Interested in knowing more about this product and where to purchase it. Thank you for the giveaway.

I am definitely concerned about pink slime in my children’s food. I’m even more concerned because generally that slime or other products used by the same companies also have antibiotics in their food and I think the over use of antibiotics in our food is appalling!

I’m honestly not super concerned. It was in most ground beef until a few years ago and I can’t say it ever injured us any. I’m not grossed out by potentially eating “icky” parts; if I’m OK eating muscle, it seems weird to get all squicky about maybe eating some lung or whatever.

Its hard to go into a grocery store and trust the meat department anymore. I just never know which products (that fit my budget) will be best. I go to Sprouts who has great prices on grass fed and organic meats. Hope no slime involved.

No pink slime in the food we eat we only buy foods that dont have it. So glad to read about this brand my son has Celiacs and a heart transplant and type 1 Diabetes so eating healthy is important these sound great will buy some at Whole foods this week to try the GF.

Ew to pink slime! I don’t understand why they allowed it again. My goal is as natural and organic of food as possible and within my tight budget. I love how organic and natural is becoming more popular. Thank goodness!

Ok, I have to say I just ate dinner and then read “Pink Slime” and it really grossed me out. We try to cook most things fresh from home to avoid as many additives and unnecessary ingredients as possible to avoid this.

I’m always super concerned about what’s in my kids’ food. I’m not near as worried about myself, but my kids, I’m super strict on. I read everything, twice and make sure that what they are eating is super healthy and natural as possible, with little cheats here and there